One of Barcelona’s unsung heroes is their vibrant captain Pierre Oriola. The veteran center is in the midst of one of his best season’s with the legendary club as he helps lead the squad both on and off of the court with his ever present smile and joy for life that oozes from his heart and soul.

“This is my personality, to smile and help my friends and teammates and to always be positive,” Oriola began as he spoke to The Sports Rabbi for an exclusive interview ahead of his club’s Euroleague clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday at Yad Eliyahu.

“My family showed me that we have only one life that we have to enjoy it. Everyday I have everything that I would want, from my family, playing basketball with Barcelona and being the captain which is an honor and a great responsibility.”

Oriola joined Barcelona back in the 2017/18 season after having played for Sevilla and Valencia in the Spanish top division, the ACB. After signing a four year deal with the club, last season the big man had his contract extended until 2024 as the player and club have tied their future together for the long term under head coach Saras Jasikevičius who signed on at the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

“Saras has a lot of character and a winning mentality. He always wants us to be the best we can be by not only winning but winning by 30, 40 or 50 points. Not only does he want us to win games he also wants us to play well as he shows that character in all of our games. He was a player once, so he also understands the players as well.”

So far, Barcelona has had a very successful season as they are at the top of the standings with a 23-8 record while having already clinched a playoff berth as well. With a current streak of five wins in a row, Barca will look to try and match their season high winning streak of six games which they have already done twice this campaign.

“We have a great group with good connections between the players,” Oriola explained of the club’s success. “We work a lot during the week at practice and have been lucky as well, but the key is the group and team that we have who have been excellent.”

Despite being in first place with a roster filled with stars and top level players, Barcelona recently added Pau Gasol, arguably one of the greatest players in the country’s history who also happens to be one of Oriola’s role models.

Gasol of course played in the NBA for close to two decades and won a pair of titles with the Los Angeles Lakers together with Kobe Bryant (another one of Oriola’s role models) while also having been a critical player for Spain’s success at a national team level.

“Pau’s the best player in the history of our country along with Juan Carlos Navarro. He’s one of the best players in the world and can help us on the court but must importantly off of the court in the locker-room along his vast experience. I don’t know yet how Saras will use him but he can help us and for sure and having him will be a good addition and key ingredient in our playoff run. He will improve our game and help us a lot.”

Barcelona retooled their roster at the start of the season and brought in star point guard Nick Calathes after the Greek-American played many years for Panathinaikos. Oriola explained that as a center, Calathes has been like a dream to play with, “He’s one of the best point guards in Europe and his passing ability and vision is tremendous. He’s so smart in every situation and he helps us so much.”

Nikola Mirotic came on board at the beginning of last season and has been one of the most critical pieces in the club’s success after returning to Europe from the NBA, “He’s the star of our team and the target for other teams to stop. He’s hard to defend because he has so many qualities, including the ability to post, go for rebounds and draw fouls.”

Youngster Leandro Bolmaro was selected in the 2020 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and his rights were then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the sky being the limit for the Argentinian, Oriola sees a very bright future for the guard, “He has an exciting future. He’s tall, fast and he has continued to improve his shot. He’s playing better a better with Saras being the key to his development.”

One of the most amazing moments of Orion’s career was being a part of the 2019 World Cup Championship team where he was an important piece to the puzzle that took home the top prize in China.

“I don’t know if this was the best moment of my career but it’s definitely one of the best moments. was. It was quite a surprise as we had pressure going into the tournament and we were missing some of our best players including Pau. But we played great basketball and the group was excellent. I really enjoy playing with the national team.”

With Barcelona’s upcoming visit to Tel Aviv, they will experience something which they haven’t had to in quite a while; having fans in the stands. “We miss the fans a lot not just at home in the Palau Balugrana but at the other arenas as well. Israel is one of the best places to play in Europe. We lost to Maccabi in the first round and while they have had some problems, they play good basketball. They switch a lot on defense and they are a team with a lot of big guys and strong guards with a lot of talent. We will see how they react and how we react with fans but one thing is for sure, it’s going to be a good game.”